Very highly probable China has strategically prepositioned EMP devices. No fuss no muss.
A moment after, ha, they will wait a year until American society has totally chaotically dissolved. Then they willl recolonize the new world.
Not really. They didn't get past the Gulf of Aden, but your point is taken.
"...China has strategically prepositioned EMP devices."
China has ICBM's in silos. Just change the flight profile and detonation altitude. They do not need to "preposition".